Michigan Rotary Club
Generation Specific => 2nd Generation Specific => 2nd Generation Build Thread => : ~Groll69~ September 09, 2010, 09:49:35 AM
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As most of you know, I have an 88 vert that we have been working on.
2005 - Purchased the vert out of kentucky. The interior was shot and the engine was trashed. We stripped both out and began our search for black interior peices.
2006 - Nothing new
2007 - Nothing New
2008 - Nothing New
2009 - Removed the engine transmission and ecu from an 86 Blue GXL and instaalled it into the convertible. Spent one entire week doing this effort. Managed to get the car running at 1am, just in time to be able to drive it down to the Woodward Dream Cruise.
2010 - Added carpet and other interior peices to the car. Fixed minor items that broke and currently using as a daily Driver. The top we cheated and just added fabric to it to make it look nicer. At least not getting rain in through the sides anymore. Still have to add speakers and a radio and get the climate control fixed. We will post pictures of the progress shortly.
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As most of you know, I have an 88 vert that we have been working on.
2009 - Removed the engine transmission and ecu from an 86 Blue GXL and instaalled it into the convertible. Spent one entire week doing this effort.
Sorry I just had to comment, good thing you got that stuff from a BLUE GXL, I hear the RED ones are real shit. LOL. And why did it take a week to swap that stuff? What problems did you run into?
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Oh i see make fun of the RED ones lol. I have a RED GXL still awaiting its new engine. That is a slow process but should be on the road soon. The red 87 GXL i have owned since 98.
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If you are anywhere near me and ever want a :'(hand with something, just let me know. I know it make all the difference sometimes. Funny I have a red rx7 and a blue one too.
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Careful what you ask for. lol. I could use help getting things moved around in my garage so i can pull the vert in for the winter and to strip the blue one down for parts. I am just constantly busy, so i have to plan out my time to make things happen.
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I hear you about being constantly busy, I work at least 60 hours a week and am out of town half the time.
I am usually home on the weekends, let me know if you need a hand. I am thinking about getting a vert for my lady as well it would be cool to check yours out. I'm going to be out of town until the 11th but after that I'm sure I could make something happen.
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Glad to see you guys making some progress finally. :)
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Thanks Kentetsu. we are making some progress. not as much as i would like, but its a project thats for sure.
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I'm still available to help if you need anything. Tonight we are spraying the car, but I'm sure I can make time this week.
I think we should all just group up and knock these cars out one at a time. Between all of us on here I'm sure we have all the expertise needed to get this stuff done easily. Also making use of all of our individual connections I bet we could save some money too.
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Definitly. this weekend and next weekend i am going to be busy.
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Well I finally broke down and installed the fan shroud and stock intake back onto the vert. I hope this makes a big difference in the cooling of the car.
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Yay!! No more overheating for Rich.
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Well time for an update.
The overheating issue has been narrowed down to air getting into the cooling system from the combustion side of the engine. This had been causing it to push coolant out through the overflow. For a true fix will require a full or partial rebuild.
As a temporary fix, I have installed a pressurized tank so that it will let some air out of the system first before pushing coolant out. While re-installing the thermostat, the bolt broke and required to be cut out. (Thanks ItsWill) The system will still get air trapped into the radiator, but its easier to fix and doesn’t require dumping a bunch of coolant into the system.
I got some new/used shocks and Tien springs from fidelity. I got the rear ones installed yesterday and that makes a huge difference in the drivability of the Vert. I was unable to get the fronts replaced becuase of the in ability to get the front lugnuts off. I am hoping to get to that this weekend. Otherwise the effort on this car has been slow.
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Gor the most part the presserized tank setup has been working well. I am getting some air build up in the radiator. The radiator does not have a overflow connection. I tried to install one, but the one i had happened to leak like an open fuacet and no amount of stop leak was going to fix it. I went back to the original radiator setup.
AS soon as i can get our mazda 6 back up and running, i can then put the vert up for storage.
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Well this past weekend i swapped out the radiator, and replaced the battery. I converted the convertible back to an S4 alternator. It had an S5 alternator on it that had failed. Everything seems to be running right now. I am hoping i have elimintated the coolant air issue. I won't really know that until i truly test it out. I did reconnect the thermo sensor on the radiator. I had to fix a connection first and the temp seems more realistic. Well testing in the driveway, the temp did spike up a bit before the thermostat opened and then it cooled down. The thermostat didnt open immediatly as it should have, so may be something that i need to watch. I am looking forward to being able to drive it again.
I really need to get a new convertible top for it though and an audio system. That is my next major goals for the car.
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Well We have the convertible officially plated again. Now we wont have to worry about plates for the next ten years. We got the Michigan Historical Plate for it. Last night in an effort to fix the exhuast leak, I dropped the exhast and painted it silver. I didn't want the rust getting the better part of the exhuast. The auto store did not have the gasket in stock, so its on order. I re-installed the exhuast without the gasket. Hopefully i can complete the exhuast on thursday.
In the mean time i bled the brakes, but i think there is still an air bubble in the line some where. I think i need to re bleed them all again. Otherwise just trying to work on the simple stuff that i can work on before saving money to buy needed parts.
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Very nice, what does the historic plate entail and how does that work? Only able to drive to and from car shows or something? Have any pictures of her?
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The cost for the historic plate i beleive was $35. you are only suppose to drive the car to car shows, parades,car club events etc. you are not suppose to use it as a daily driver. Since generally that is all we ever use the car for now, ie special event stuff, then it works in our favor. (except right now its a temp daily till i get the jeep fixed)
I will have to post pictures of the car. its still looking rough since it needs a new top on it. otherwise its pretty decent.
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Well we taped up the holes in the side of the convertible top, again. I swear eventually we will buy a new top for it. It is getting really really bad. I also pulled the heater controls and opened it up. I resoldered some points in it and re-assmbled losing one button. (found the button and now have to re-open to put it back on) The fan control is now working flawlesly. I don't have to beat on the side of the control box to make it work sparadically. I tried to hook in the cheap radio, but it wasnt working. I decided to open it up and found that a capacitor had blown on it. Looks like time to buy a new cheap radio for the vert to go along wit the ghetto house speakers i threw in it for sound, until i actually buy the board and make the interior how i want it.
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The cost for the historic plate i beleive was $35. you are only suppose to drive the car to car shows, parades,car club events etc. you are not suppose to use it as a daily driver. Since generally that is all we ever use the car for now, ie special event stuff, then it works in our favor. (except right now its a temp daily till i get the jeep fixed)
I will have to post pictures of the car. its still looking rough since it needs a new top on it. otherwise its pretty decent.
car shows and car meets count too, also in August you are permitted to drive it anywhere in the state for any reason.
I have historic plates on my truck and rx7, they are 1 number apart and when I usually use the suburban I tow the rx7 so technically I am going to an event of similar vehicles.
Also the trailer hides the plate nicely and I have a racing-beat license plate frame which PERFECTLY covers up the words HISTORIC on the bottom for both vehicles :)
Granted I barely drive the two it makes insurance MUCH cheaper and for both vehicles to register that cheap for 10 years? hard to pass up.
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I need to get a good license plate cover for it. I already got pulled over once before having the actually plate becuase the officer did not see the paper plate. No ticket or anything just a hi and your good to go after he saw all of my paperwork.
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next time you buy something from racingbeat I suggest theirs, its one 1 dollar too :)
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that is cheap. i will have to remeber to do that.
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That's awesome, the whole month of August? I might just have to do that. Also, when I ordered a new exedy clutch kit from Racing beat, it came with a free license plate frame haha.
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Yeah one time they messed up my order and sent me the frame with a few stickers along with the correct part on expedited shipping.
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I've had some good luck patching the top with vinyl patches & glue - they last for about 2 years in places that flex a lot. Basically cut a patch that's a bit bigger than the tear, smear the vinyl glue all over one side of it & stick it on, and then using some thicker thread, sew it around the edge of the patch to really hold it in place & keep it from moving.
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Well, minor maintance has cropped up. i need to put on a new brake master cylinder for the convertible. Otherwise the car has been running great.
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I put on a new master cuylinder, but i beleive that i adjusted the pin out to far, so i need to remove it from the booster again and reduce the pin length. Brillant idea just didn't work as i thought that it would.
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It is time to start doing some work on Bella. We brought her out of storage today and she started right up and drove home with no issues.
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I thought she had no issues, turned out the power steering pump was beginning to fail. Looks like a replacement is going to be needed to keep her operating smoothly. Right now the belt is disconnected from it to prevent a total failure and seizure of the pump while driving.
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I didnt take any pictures, but i fixed the rattle i had with the dash surround. It required making a mount for the two bottom plastic connections and a lot of hot glue. I also replaced the bolts for the latch connection for the top the the winshield. I think i got about 75% of the rattle noises taken care of with those two fixes. We will see when i get it driving on the road again and hit some bumps. At the least i should have screws falling down on me and the dash surround coming off anymore.
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I have a spare S5 Power-steering pump, let me know! We could work out a deal or do a trade. It's definitely top down season though!
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KrazyKreiner has went out and purchased a marine grade kenwood stereo and 6 - 6" speakers for the convertible. They arrived yesterday. I will begin a simple installation of a couple of speakers along with the radio for this weekends cruise and then do a more formal installation later with speaker boxes etc. She will be happy to have the tunes in her car.
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I ordered in some black door panels for the convertible. I am currently fixing minor issues with them before i install them onto the door of the convertible. Hopefully they will be installed in the next couple of days.
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Thanks to Itswill, He welded new nuts in to replace the ones that busted out for the trunk latch. Now we dont have to bungy it closed. Krazykreiner was happy and it all lined up the first time.
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Time to begin updating this thread.
As many of you know, my duaghter recently got her drivers permit. She has decided that she wants the vert as her first car. In order for ther to get it, I told her she has to rebuild a rotary motor first. Her and I started the disassembly of a rotary engine i had laying around. Murz came over and helped with it also so that we could ensure it was all good. Upon opening the short block, we noticed some bad scoring along the egde of the housings cuased by the tiny corner apex seal. There was excessive wear on the irons which meens a resurfacing is in order.
I contacted Archie who happened to have extra housings in good shape and irons which saves me resurfacing costs at this time. Now my duaghter has to clean the dust and grime off in order to paint the housings and irons before reassembling.
I have some pics i will upload later and Murz has some pics too. We will post the build as we progress this month.
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No wonder we couldn't get it running. Yesterday when cleaning the garage I found the housing masking materials we painstakingly cut out, so come get them before you paint the engine.
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Yes i need to pick up those templates from you. I can swing by this week.
The housings and side irons are definitly why we couldnt get it running. there was no damage to the rotor and rest of the internals. I also think i should replace the apex, side seals and corner seals. I have the springs for them all. after seeing the wear, its a great peice of mind to replace for her.
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come get them tonight and help me get the parts together for the lemons car!
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Pictures as promised.
(http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b627/marcusoo71/Vert/IMG_1226_zpsfklimlgg.jpg) (http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/marcusoo71/media/Vert/IMG_1226_zpsfklimlgg.jpg.html)
(http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b627/marcusoo71/Vert/IMG_1217_zpsrsq4abaa.jpg) (http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/marcusoo71/media/Vert/IMG_1217_zpsrsq4abaa.jpg.html)
(http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b627/marcusoo71/Vert/IMG_1220_zpsvuwvowbn.jpg) (http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/marcusoo71/media/Vert/IMG_1220_zpsvuwvowbn.jpg.html)
(http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b627/marcusoo71/Vert/IMG_1223_zps22jwver1.jpg) (http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/marcusoo71/media/Vert/IMG_1223_zps22jwver1.jpg.html)
(http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b627/marcusoo71/Vert/IMG_1218_zpspdcrmyxk.jpg) (http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/marcusoo71/media/Vert/IMG_1218_zpspdcrmyxk.jpg.html)
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Thanks for the pics
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I really should post some pics, but as of yesterday, I finally got the radio properly installed and looking nice. only took a year since I first connected it. lol
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Two nights ago I finally got the vert out of my garage and put jenny into my garage. Last night I added the momentary fuel pump cut switch to the car under the dash. The switch definitely beats pulling the injector fuse to de flood the car. I will need another one for the TII when I ever get to it. The momentary switch used is normally closed till pushed to disconnect the circuit. Unfortunately you can't just pick up the switch at your local auto parts place.
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I have been hard at work trying to freshen up the interior. Since it was completely gutted, this has required some thought. Step one is almost completed. That is hiding the convertible top motors from view again. Here is the progress so far.
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The boxes are bolted in place by a single bolt each. Next step will be painting them to help seal them from moisture. Along with building storage bins to hide things in.
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Nice! Looks much better already!
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Friday night was a busy night. We got more things accomplished on the vert. Krazykreiner designed a convertible boot cover that holds in placewith magnets. I finished making the storage bins lid. Next will be painting to seal it all and the carpeting needs to be applied. Here are some pics to enjoy.
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Here is the current result at the m1 concourse cars and coffee car show.
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Today I painted the boxes for the convertible. Here is the painted results. I will re-install them when they finish drying.
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I plan to cover them with carpet or some form of material in the near future. The paint will help protect against some moisture, since it is a convertible.
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Here is the result so far after painting.
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Thanks to murz, I traded him a set of tii rims that I had for a set of bbs rims. I can now get rid of the gtu rims on here. I also found some missing plastic pieces that the vert needed. Now to install everything.
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Can't wait to see them on the car!
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Had a good weekend. I picked up the bbs center caps and installed the front air dam cover thing.
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I finally decided to throw some headgasket sealer into the vert to see if it helps my long standing issue. I haven't driven it yet but I am not getting any coolant burning during start up so I think it is doing something. I need to take it for a drive to really test it.
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I didn't notice you found centercaps, awesome! Not easy to find! I bet getting a fan shroud may help cooling a bit too, hopefully the sealer helps out. Any other plans for the car over the winter?
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No major plans at this time for the car. Cooling wise the car stays real cool even without the fan shroud. I had to fix the drivers door handle though. Eventually I should replace it, but it is working again for the time.
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The rear bins for the 'vert came out really nicely! I've been trying to figure out something to do with that space, without sacrificing the spare tire. I'm guessing that you just got rid of it, and maybe even cut off the structure that holds it in place?
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Thanks. This car actually never had the spare tire structure in it at all, The earlier verts didn't have it. If I did have it, I would have cut it out. I still want to carpet the bins yet. At least they are painted and they do look decent. I think it makes the space very useful. If you want to do that, bring it over, I still have more wood and we can copy my design and install it.
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Time to get working on the vert. It is slowly coming together. I will be replacing the engine with a previously rebuilt s5 motor. I spent this past sunday up in Flint getting a lot of various parts that I needed for it. A complete s5 uncut, undamaged engine harness. air meter, bac and various other parts that I knew that I was missing. Getting a newer targa top for it. It was a long day of parts gathering, but very nice and sunny out so that it was worth the time spent there in Flint.
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Well this last year has been fairly shot as far as getting progress done on the vert. We did pick up a new s5 targa piece. I have an s5 NA engine and computer to install into the vert to replace the current s4 NA that has had a coolant leak in it. Yesterday I met up with ItsWill and we purchased a quart of primer and factory 60's Plum Crazy Chrysler single stage with metal flake in it to paint the engine bay. After Dream Cruise this year, we will begin the engine bay transformation of the car.
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Can't wait to see! I didn't know you got a new targa as well, that's great!!
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I was just starring at your replacement engine yesterday. We should start getting it prepped in the next few weeks. Spring is going to be here soon!
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Let's get er done! Let me know when, and i can come by and get that engine de'flooded.
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how about this weekend?
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I could come by Sunday morning or something and get the car started, then later help Will out with his build.
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Murz came over on Sunday and we tried to get the car going. Turned out part of the issue was the fuel pump was not getting power. We got those connections cleaned up and now the starter is stuck in a dead spot. I will have to wait for another evening to mess with it and get it to crank over.
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Last night I got the convertible running. Had to get the starter past the dead spot it was stuck in. It turned out the car was running rough on the road and the reason for it was the trailing wires were reversed. Once I switched those around on the side of the highway this morning, then it was running much better. I could drive above 70mph the rest of the way into work. I am forced to drive this while the MX3 undergoes some repairs.
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My daughter got to experience push starting the convertible on Saturday since I couldn't get the starter past the dead spot when we went to Great Lakes Crossing. Sunday I went ahead and pulled the old starter out and swapped it with another one that I had laying around. So far, no issues. I am driving it until I fix the Mazda MX3
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The starters are pretty simple to take apart and clean/repair if the problem is with the rotor contacts/brushes. I've rebuilt a turbo one with some old NA parts I had laying around, and cleaned up a few others electrically to get a few more years of life out of them.
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I would have to pull it apart and see what I can do. For now it is just going to sit in my garage. I am not sure is I have another starter laying around that I could salvage from at all. Usually I just by brand new/rebuilt starter and call it a day.
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If its a dead spot in the starter, chances are that you just need some emery paper to clean up the contacts on the rotor that the brushes slide along - no new parts needed
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Yeah, it's probably easier to fix than driving to the store!
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I found out on an 8 hour cruise to middle of Ohio and back to pick up a rear hatch glass, that the rear tires were at their wear bars. The glass was for Elsa, the ice racer, that i blew out the glass at the beginning of February. She did some horrible crazy fishtailing on the highway in heavy rain and forced me to slow down to under 45mph. That was just to keep her rear end from fishtailing out on me on any little bit of water. Needless to say, Bella required new rear tires. I just got two new ones installed on the rims. I plan to put them back on the car this evening. I got Yokohama Envigors or something like that. They seemed to be a highly rated tire for their price. The other two tires had a decent amount of tread left. I can't afford a full set at this point in time.
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Today, i installed a dual alternator pulley on Bella.
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Excellent mod, I did this on my silver car because of how bad the water pump slipped at higher RPMs, without the air-pump.
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Yea, I did the same thing when first turbo-swapping the 'vert. For the most part it works, but it is a bit sensitive to the belt selection and how close in diameter they are/how they wear. Going with an e-Fan and not driving it off the end of the water pump should help a bit.
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Last night, i was coming home from Lansing area and power steering felt like it went out. I thought that i lost enough fluid from it leaking to cuase it to not work properly. Well I investigated it today and this is what i saw.
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I was due to give Bella an oil change anyways. I also had an extra pulley in my cabinet that i grabbed and installed. Here is close up of the pulley and with the new one installed.
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Woah, I've never seen that before, yeah that would do it. Glad you got it fixed, you've been having some bad luck lately.
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Wow, that's definitely an unusual failure mode!
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Oh yes, luck has not seem to have been on my side lately. I am hoping things improve here soon. It was truly an odd failure to get. Luckily i keep old belts that were in good condition and have the extra pulley laying around.